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Bottom line: Havlat the man

Rookies Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews get a lot of attention, but Martin Havlat is still the guy when it comes to the Blackhawks' offense.

Point-a-game scorers are hard to find, but Havlat has 5 goals and 6 assists in 11 games since returning from a shoulder injury that sidelined him for much of the first two months of the season.

In fact, in the 67 games Havlat has appeared in with the Hawks, he has 68 points.

It's a healthy Havlat who returns tonight to where it all started for him -- Ottawa -- to face a Senators team that couldn't afford to keep him two summers ago and traded him to the Hawks.

"It's my home, it's where I started and where they gave me a chance to play in the NHL," Havlat said. "I'm very excited to come back. I had a lot of fun there."

Havlat would love to show the Senators what they missed, although his former team is a not-too-shabby 22-8-3, the best record in the Eastern Conference.

"It's a big challenge," Havlat said. "It's one of the best teams in the league and probably the best team in the East."

The Hawks hope to build on Wednesday's 5-2 win over Nashville, a game that saw Havlat get 3 assists and put on a dominant performance with linemate Robert Lang.

Havlat appears to be getting better as his shoulder gets stronger, and the Hawks need him and Lang to be their best players on a consistent basis.

"He's been tremendous," Hawks coach Denis Savard said. "I like the way he played last game. I'd like to see it every night because that was a big game for us and he played well.

"His expectations are to play that way. I know it takes time to get back in the timing of everything, and I know he has confidence now that his shoulder is good. He'll bring it, no question."

No doubt a key point in the Hawks' season occurred when the decision was made by doctors not to operate on the right shoulder Havlat injured opening night in Minnesota. Had surgery been necessary, Havlat would have been lost for the season.

Havlat still won't say he is 100 percent, and he might not be all year, but Havlat at 85 or 90 percent still is better than most NHL players.

"I feel good and we're playing pretty good hockey," he said. "The more games we play together (with Lang), the better we're going to get."

Savard is closer to having his lines set the way he wants, though there is sure to be more shuffling when Rene Bourque, Jake Dowell and Jason Williams return from injuries.

"If the first two lines, our games, are where it's supposed to be and you do get the results, it's a lot easier," Lang said.

Savard admitted this week that he likes Dustin Byfuglien better as a forward and that he'll be back on the top line with Lang and Havlat this weekend.

"Like I said, I like Buff up front," Savard said. "He's got 8 goals and he needs to be playing up there."

There's no reason to bust up the second line of Toews, Kane and Patrick Sharp, and the third line of Dave Bolland, Tuomo Ruutu and Adam Burish has been very good as well.

Scouting report

Blackhawks vs. Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place, 6 p.m.

TV: Comcast SportsNet

Radio: WSCR 670-AM

The skinny: The Senators own the best record in the Eastern Conference (22-8-3) and had a six-game winning streak snapped by Thursday's 3-2 loss in Atlanta. The Hawks will face one of the league's most dangerous offenses, led by Daniel Alfredsson (45 points), Dany Heatley (43) and Jason Spezza (42). Alfredsson and Heatley each have 20 goals -- 6 on the power play for Heatley, who has 12 goals and 10 assists in the last 15 games. The Senators, 11-5-1 at home, are without gritty center Mike Fischer (oblique muscle).

Player to watch: Martin Havlat. Hawks star returns to Ottawa for the first time since the trade to Chicago.

Next: Edmonton Oilers at the United Center, 6 p.m. Sunday

-- Tim Sassone

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